UNLEASH THE POWER OF RAW!

Master shooting and editing the best file format for photography, with James Paterson

- James Paterson

The modern mind has to deal with vast amounts of data. It’s estimated that every day we ingest five times more information than we did 25 years ago. Sifting through and channelling that data into what’s important and what is not has become one of the big challenges of modern life.

In a sense, information overload is also the main challenge facing the photographer. A raw file contains around five times the data of an equivalent JPEG. So if you’re thinking of making the switch from shooting JPEGs to shooting raw, you have to be prepared to sift, channel and manage all that extra data. It requires a slight shift in mindset, but it can also spur you into a more enlightened way of shooting and editing your photos.

Raw expands your options, while JPEG narrows them. Shoot in JPEG quality, and your camera will decide how the image should look, then dump most of the extra information it is capable of recording. Switch to raw, and you retain all the uncompressed ‘raw’ data. The price you pay for this is the extra time spent managing and processing raw files, and the extra money spent storing them.

Shooting in raw brings with it a level of commitment that we wouldn’t recommend for the casual snapper. But for those of us who want to take complete control over the look of our photos, raw is by far the better option. Here we’ll explore the benefits of shooting in raw, and how to craft that extra data into perfectly prepared photos. From shooting to editing and exporting, we’ll guide you through the complete workflow.

CASE STUDY #1: Landscapes Raw’s expanded dynamic range boosts outdoor photography

1 Graduated tones